Harare - Today women are wearing all types of lipstick from the lip stain, glossy lipstick, light lipstick and dark lipstick. The textures, brands, names and colours are infinite but for them to come out well there has to be a lip liner.

Some may think the lip liner is now out-dated because it has been there since the 1980s, where some African women would just wear the lip liner with a natural lip gloss without any colourful lipsticks. Well, the lip liners have never ceased to exist; they have always been there but edified for a different look.

Lip liner is applied on the edge of the lips before applying a colourful lipstick, although some can go the other way and still look amazing once done.

Make-up artists have urged ladies to be conscious of the colour combinations between lipstick or lip stain and lip liner.

“I have seen some ladies applying a black liner on a bright pink or peach lipstick.

Honestly, the contrast in colours creates a ‘plastic’ look that is not attractive at all. This could be one of the reasons why men dislike kissing a lady’s lips when she is wearing lipstick,” said Constance Kadura, a make-up artist based in Harare, Zimbabwe.

“The lip liner has to blend with the lipstick colour, either slightly lighter or slightly darker. For those who want to go on their natural lip colour, the liner should be at least one shade darker than their lips.

Lip liners are not crucial when wearing make-up, one can apply a lip stain or lipstick without it and still look good. However, lip liners have a way of making the lips more profound and lipstick to stay on the lips for a long time without ‘bleeding’. Rutendo Chara, a Zimbabwean make-up artist based in Pretoria, South Africa, said lip liners can act like a tap that holds the lip colour down thereby avoiding fading and lipstick smudging to the outside of the lipstick.

“A lip liner (or some would prefer to call them pencil liner) makes the shape of the lips so defined when one wears lipstick. The same way that eyebrows are shaped and perfected with a concealer is the same way that lip liners shape the lips,” said Chara.

“As a way of avoiding ‘misfiring’ on lip liner against lip colour, women are advised to have an invisible lip liner that can go well with any lipstick colour.

“Lip liners enhance the shape of one’s lips and make the lipstick prominent. Lipsticks are one of the many aspects that brighten a woman’s face. Soon after make-up, the lips are bright, as such, ladies need to be careful not to spoil the brightness.”

She said dark lipstick goes well with a liner that is of the same colour with lipstick but, slightly darker whereas a lighter lipstick requires a lip liner of a slightly lighter or darker, or even of a different, colour. For example, a pink or nude lipstick can be accompanied by a light brown liner.

The Southern Times is a SADC regional newspaper which circulates throughout the Southern Africa region. Launched in September 2004, the newspaper is a 50-50 joint venture between New Era Publications Corporation of Namibia and Zimbabwe Newspapers (1980) Limited. It seeks to report stories from a pan-African perspective, and promote Africa values with Africans telling their own stories from politics, business, arts, entertainment, culture, travel and tourism, and sports.

The Southern Times is headquartered in Windhoek, Namibia, and has offices in Harare, Zimbabwe. It has correspondents stationed in most of the 16-member SADC countries – from Angola to Zimbabwe - who contribute articles.